Audiology

Milestones – Hearing, Speech and Language

Unless
your baby has a hearing impairment, he/she can hear even before
birth. Children learn to talk by imitating the sounds around
them and the voices of their parents and caregivers. But that’s
not true for all children. Two or three out of every 1,000 children
are born deaf or hard-of-hearing and more lose their hearing
later during childhood. You know your child better than
anyone: you are with your child the most and will likely be
the first to notice his or her developmental milestones. There
are several signs that may indicate your child has a hearing
loss. If your baby or child does not appear to have reached
one or more of these developmental milestones at the age indicated,
talk to your family doctor about having his or her hearing tested.

0-1 MonthHearing is fully matureRecognizes some soundsMay turn toward familiar sounds and voicesStartles or jumps when there are loud soundsStops sucking or crying when there is a new sound

1-3 Months Smiles at the sound of your voiceBegins to babbleBegins to imitate some soundsTurns head toward direction of sound

3 – 7 Months Responds to own nameBegins to respond to “no”Distinguishes emotions by tone of voiceResponds to sound by making soundsUses voice to express joy and displeasureBabbles chains of consonantsTurns head toward a sound source

7 – 12 MonthsPays increasing attention to speechResponds to simple verbal requestsResponds to “no”Uses simple gestures, such as shaking head for “no”Babbles with inflectionBabbles chains of consonantsSays “dada” and “mama”Uses exclamations, such as “Oh-oh!”Tries to imitate words

1 – 2 YearsPoints to object or picture when it’s named for himRecognizes names of familiar people, objects and body partsSays several single words (by 15 to 18 months)Uses simple gestures, such as shaking head for “no”Uses simple phrases (by 18 to 24 months)Uses two- to four-word sentencesFollows simple instructionsRepeats words overheard in conversation

2 – 3 YearsFollows a two- or three-component commandRecognizes and identifies almost all common objects and picturesUnderstands most sentencesUnderstands physical relationships (“on,” “in,” “under”)Uses four- and five-word sentencesCan say name, age and sexUses pronouns (I, you, me, we, they) and some plurals (cars,
dogs, cats)Strangers can understand most of her words

3 – 4 YearsUnderstands the concepts of “same” and “different”Has mastered some basic rules of grammarSpeaks in sentences of five to six wordsSpeaks clearly enough for strangers to understandTells stories

4 – 5 YearsRecalls part of a storySpeaks sentences of more than five wordsUses future tenseTells longer storiesSays name and address